Received

For many people around the world, the word corgi is forever linked to Queen Elizabeth II.

Princess Diana once called them a "moving carpet" always by her mother-in-law's side. Stubby, fluffy little dogs with a high-pitched bark, corgis were the late Queen's constant companions since she was a child. She owned nearly 30 throughout her life, and they enjoyed a life of privilege fit for a royal pet.

Elizabeth's death last week had raised public concerns over who will care for her beloved dogs.

A spokeswoman for Prince Andrew said he and his former wife Sarah, Duchess of York will take on Muick and Sandy - two dogs the late monarch received as gifts from her son.

"One of the intriguing things people are wondering about at the funeral is whether a corgi is going to be present," said royal historian Robert Lacey.

"The Queen's best friends were corgis, these short-legged, ill tempered beasts with a yap that doesn't appeal to many people in Britain, but was absolutely crucial to the Queen."

Elizabeth's love for corgis began in 1933 when her father, King George VI, brought home a Pembroke Welsh corgi they named Dookie. Images of a young Elizabeth walking the dog outside their lavish London home would be the first among many to come over the decades.

When she was 18 she was given another and named it Susan, the first in a long line of corgis to come. Later there were dorgis -- a dachshund and corgi crossbreed -- owned by the Queen. Eventually they came to accompany her in public appearances, and became part of her persona.

Throughout Elizabeth's 70 years on the throne, the corgis were by her side, accompanying her on official tours, reportedly sleeping in their own room at Buckingham Palace with daily sheet changes, and occasionally nipping the ankles of the odd visitor or royal family member.

Three of them even appeared alongside her as she climbed into James Bond's waiting helicopter in the spoof video that opened the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

British author Penny Junor documented their feisty lives in a 2018 biography All The Queen's Corgis.

She writes that Elizabeth walked and fed the dogs, chose their names and when they died, buried them with individual plaques. Care for the corgis had fallen largely on the Queen's trusted dressmaker and assistant Angela Kelly and her page Paul Whybrew.

The corgis were also present when the Queen welcomed visitors at the palace, including distinguished statesmen and officials. When the conversation lulled, Elizabeth would often turn her attention to her dogs to fill the silence.

"She was also concerned about what would happen to her dogs when she is no longer around," Junor wrote, noting that some royal family members did not share her fondness for the corgis.

After the death of her corgi Willow in 2018, it was reported that the Queen would not be getting any more dogs.

But that changed during the illness of her late husband, Prince Philip, who died in 2021 aged 99. She turned once again to her beloved corgis for comfort.

On what would have been Philip's 100th birthday last year, the Queen was reportedly given another dog.

In addition to her human family, Elizabeth is survived by two corgis, a dorgi, and a cocker spaniel.

© AP 2022

In a sombre, regal procession, Queen Elizabeth II's flag-draped coffin has been driven slowly through the Scottish countryside from her beloved Balmoral Castle to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh.

Mourners on Sunday packed city streets and highway bridges or lined rural roads with cars and tractors to take part in a historic goodbye to the monarch who had reigned for 70 years.

The hearse drove past piles of bouquets and other tributes as it led a seven-car cortege from Balmoral, where the Queen died on Thursday at 96, for a six-hour trip through Scottish towns to Holyroodhouse palace in Edinburgh.

The was draped in the Royal Standard for Scotland and topped with a wreath made of flowers from the estate, including sweet peas, one of the Queen's favourites.

The procession was a huge event for Scotland as the United Kingdom takes days to mourn its longest-reigning monarch, the only one most Britons have ever known. People turned out hours early to grab a space by the police barricades in Edinburgh. By afternoon, the crowds were 10 people deep.

Silence fell on the packed Royal Mile in Edinburgh as the hearse arrived. But as the convoy vanished from view, the crowd spontaneously started clapping.

When the hearse reached Holyroodhouse, members of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, wearing green tartan kilts, carried the coffin past the Queen's youngest three children --Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward -- into the throne room, where it was to remain until Monday afternoon so staff can pay their last respects.

King Charles III and his Queen Consort Camilla will travel Monday to Edinburgh to join another solemn procession that takes the coffin to St. Giles Cathedral on the city's Royal Mile. There the coffin will remain for 24 hours so the Scottish public can pay their respects before it is flown to London on Tuesday.

In each Scottish town and village, the entourage was met with respect. People stood mostly in silence. Some clapped politely, others pointed their phone cameras at the passing cars. In Aberdeenshire, farmers lined the route with an honour guard of tractors.

Sunday's solemn drive came as the Queen's eldest son was formally proclaimed the new monarch -- King Charles III -- in the rest of the UK: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It came a day after a pomp-filled accession ceremony in England.

Just before the proclamation was read Sunday in Edinburgh, a protester appeared with a sign condemning imperialism and urging leaders to "abolish the monarchy." She was taken away by police. Reaction was mixed. One man shouted, "Let her go! It's free speech!" while others shouted: "Have some respect!"

Earlier in the day, proclamations were read in other parts of the Commonwealth, including Australia and New Zealand.

Charles, even as he mourned his late mother, got to work at Buckingham Palace, meeting with the secretary-general and other Commonwealth envoys. Many in those nations are grappling with both affection for the Queen and lingering bitterness over their colonial legacies, which ranged from slavery to corporal punishment in African schools to looted artefacts held in British cultural institutions.

The coffin was taking a circuitous journey back to the capital. After it is flown to London on Tuesday, it will be moved from Buckingham Palace on Wednesday to the Houses of Parliament to lie in state until a state funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 19.

The Queen came to the throne following the death of her father King George VI on February 6, 1952, when she was 25.

Her coronation took place a year later.

The day of Elizabeth's funeral will be a public holiday in the UK, officials have announced.

© RAW 2022

King Charles will meet MPs in parliament in London before flying to Edinburgh to join his siblings in a solemn procession when the coffin of his mother Queen Elizabeth is taken to the city's historic cathedral.

Also on Monday, the new monarch will join senior royals for a vigil at St Giles' Cathedral where the coffin will lie at rest before being flown to London on Tuesday.

Since Elizabeth's death aged 96 at Balmoral Castle, her Scottish holiday home, a choreographed series of plans to mourn Britain's monarch of 70 years has been put into operation.

On Sunday, her oak coffin, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland with a wreath on top, was taken by hearse on a six-hour journey from Balmoral through picturesque Scottish countryside, villages, small towns and cities to Edinburgh.

Tens of thousands of well-wishers lined the roads to pay their respects, while huge crowds, some in tears, gathered in Edinburgh to greet the cortege.

Before setting off for Scotland, Charles, 73, who automatically became king of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms including Australia, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, will travel to the British parliament for another traditional ceremony.

At Westminster Hall, members from both the House of Commons and the upper House of Lords will express their condolences for the death of his mother, and the King will deliver a response.

He will then fly to Edinburgh with his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, to join his sister Anne and brothers Andrew and Edward.

The Queen's children will walk behind the hearse as the coffin of their mother is taken to St Giles' Cathedral, flanked by soldiers.

When it arrives at the church, the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, the premier Scottish peer, will place the Crown of Scotland on the coffin.

After a service, the coffin will rest at the cathedral for 24 hours to allow people to pay their respects. A continuous vigil will be mounted by soldiers from the Royal Company of Archers - the sovereign's 'Body Guard in Scotland'.

Charles, who will also visit the Scottish parliament, will later mount a vigil along with other royals.

His son Prince Harry paid tribute on Monday to his granny, saying the Queen's unwavering grace and dignity remained true throughout her life and was now her lasting legacy.

"She was globally admired and respected," Harry, who stepped down from royal duties with his wife Meghan in 2020, said in a statement.

On Tuesday, the coffin will be flown to London where on Wednesday it will begin a period of lying in state until early on September 19 - the day of Elizabeth's state funeral - on a catafalque at Westminster Hall.

It will be guarded by soldiers or by Yeoman Warders - known as beefeaters - from the Tower Of London.

Members of the public will be allowed to process past the coffin, which will be covered by the Royal Standard with the sovereign's Orb and Sceptre placed on top, for 24 hours a day until 6.30am on September 19.

"Those wishing to attend will be required to queue for many hours, possibly overnight," the government said in a statement. "Large crowds are expected and people are encouraged to check ahead, plan accordingly and be prepared for long wait times."

Meanwhile thousands of people are continuing to gather at royal palaces across Britain, bringing flowers. In Green Park near London's Buckingham Palace, where some of the tributes are being taken, long lines of bouquets now snake around the park allowing mourners to read the tributes.

Britain last saw such a display of public mourning in 1997 following the death of Charles's first wife, Princess Diana, in a car crash in Paris.

"It reminds me of Diana 25 years ago," Helen Soo, 59, said. "I was much younger in those days, I slept overnight in Hyde Park and this is multiplied by 100 probably."

© RAW 2022